The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an organisation based in the United Kingdom which works with shareholders and corporations to disclose the greenhouse gas emissions of major corporations. As disclosure of emission related data as CDP's primary activity, the quality of the data reported to CDP is key. In 2008, it published the emissions data for 1550 of the world's largest corporations, accounting for 26% of global anthropogenic emissions.[citation needed] The actual value of CDP's reports for investors and NGOs is contested.[1] Furthermore, the quality of the data on which CDP's reports are premised is questionable.[2]

International agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol have proved problematic, and individual governments have been reluctant to develop stringent national limits on emissions for fear of big companies relocating their factories and jobs to nations with laxer regulatory regimes. The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) attempts to side step these national interests by focusing on individual companies rather than on nations. CDP brings together institutional investors to focus attention on carbon emissions, energy usage and reduction – wherever companies and assets may be located.

Some corporations have higher greenhouse gas emissions than individual nation states. Some leading companies have moved to become carbon neutral, but for others there is scope to reduce energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions by adoption of energy efficiency methods and business planning.

CDP works with 3,000 of the largest corporations in the world to help them ensure that an effective carbon emissions / reductions strategy is made integral to their business . The collection of self-reported data from thousands of companies is supported by 822 institutional investors with US$95 trillion under management.[3] CDP operates from Berlin, New York, London and has partners in 18 of the world's major economies which help deliver the programme globally. It has:

Established the world's largest repository[citation needed] of GHG emissions and energy use data accounting for some 26% of global anthropogenic CO2

Started to establish a globally used standard for emissions and energy reporting

Active staff or partner organisations in the United States, China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Canada, India, Brazil, Nordic region, South Africa, Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand, among others

Works with corporations including WalMart, Tesco, Cadbury Schweppes, Procter and Gamble, and many others to measure emissions through the supply chain.

Much of the data elicited has never been collected before. This information is helpful to investors,[4] corporations, and regulators in making informed decisions which take into account corporate risk from future government legislation, possible future lawsuits, and shifts in consumers' perceptions towards heavy emitters. An estimated $27 trillion will be spent over the next 30 years on new energy-related capital developments (power stations, fuel distillation plants, etc.). In line with ecological modernisation school of thought, CDP considers it vital that the right or optimally-suitable technologies are adopted. In particular:

Pricing in how, under different scenarios, the price of carbon emissions will shift the economics of alternative energy sources.

The process of companies having to respond to CDP delivers real changes in business practice resulting in lower energy use.[citation needed] In many cases this leads to a higher proportion of energy from renewable sources.

CDP operates in most major economies worldwide and channels information and progress through individual programs. These are: Climate Change, Water, Supply Chain, Forests and Cities. Its Carbon Action initiative which encourages investors to accelerate carbon reduction in high emitting industries and to implement emissions reducing projects that generate positive return on investment.

CDP's climate change program aims to reduce companies’ greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change risk. CDP requests information on the risks and opportunities of climate from the world’s largest companies on behalf of 822 institutional investor signatories with a combined US$95 trillion in assets.[5]

In 2015 CDP's supply chain program involved 66 corporations with $1.3 trillion in procurement spend. Corporations requested that their suppliers disclose information on how they are approaching climate and water risks and opportunities. Data was gathered from 3,396 companies worldwide.[7]

CDP's forests program acts on behalf of 298 signatory investors with US$19 trillion in assets. CDP collects information from companies through the lens of the four agricultural commodities responsible for most deforestation: timber, palm oil, cattle and soy. CDP’s forests program was first set up by the Global Canopy Programme Global Canopy Programme which remains a prime funder for the program.[8]

CDP Cities provides standardized reporting of emissions data, analysis of climate risks and opportunities and adaptation plans for cities around the world. The potential and need for this program is enormous since soon over half of the world’s population will live in cities.[9] CDP Cities provides an easy to use global platform based upon a simple questionnaire that allows city governments to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emission data. One of the greatest values of the annual report, first released in June 2011, is to city leaders who can identify peers who are addressing similar risks and issues with new and innovative strategies for reducing carbon emissions and for mitigating risk from climate change.

CDLI scores are calculated according to a standardized methodology which measures whether and how well, a company responds to each question. A company is awarded points if it reports its greenhouse gas emissions, but the actual amount of emissions does not affect its score. CDLI scores provide a valuable perspective on the range and quality of responses to CDP’s questionnaire.

The CDP represents 655 institutional investors, with a combined $78 trillion under management. In 2010, CDP was called "The most powerful green NGO you've never heard of" by the Harvard Business Review.[11] In 2012 it won the Zayed Future Energy Prize.[12]

^Analysis of corporate submission of data to voluntary carbon disclosure ranking projects questions the quality of data: relevant for understanding the CDP is then that while some corporate data may be disclosed, whether that data is any good is a completely different issue. Lippert, I. (2013). Enacting Environments: An Ethnography of the Digitalisation and Naturalisation of Emissions. PhD thesis, Augsburg University, Philosophisch-Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Augsburg. see Pages 256-279